12 years after the famous MTV awards ceremony, the details behind some of the most scandalous outfits in history
It was September 2010 and the MTV Video Music Awards (VMA) was about to receive some of the industry's biggest stars when Lady Gaga appeared before the world's cameras in a controversial outfit that would be marked on the history of fashion It was an impressive dress of raw red meat and a matching bag that, after a decade, continues to make people talk.
And it is that, although over the years the interpreter of hits such as Bad Romance, Telephone, Just Dance, or Rain On Me has been characterized for being, in addition to being a singer and actress, a fashion icon, it was on that occasion when The famous American completely stole the public's attention and generated a debate that continues to this day.
It should be noted that this was not the first time that Gaga had appeared in an outfit of this style, since a few days before the famous appeared at the 2010 VMAs, some photographs taken by Terry Richardson began to circulate worldwide. These were the images that made up the cover of Vogue Hommes Japan, where the singer posed in a "meat" bikini.
But the moment that made the audience explode occurred on the red carpet of the already renowned award ceremony, where Lady Gaga stole all eyes with the outfit designed by Franc Fernández. From that moment on, the positions were divided and both associations in favor of animals, as well as Internet users and artists, began to ask for explanations about the decision to create a dress like that.
“Lady Gaga's job is to do quirky things and this certainly qualifies as such, as meat is something you want to avoid putting on or in your body… No matter how precious the image appears, meat from a tortured animal is the meat of a tortured animal…”, Ingrid Newkirk, president of the organization People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) told the New York Daily News at the time.
Likewise, in 2019 Billie Eilish and her older brother, Finneas O'Connell reacted during an interview with Variety about the meat dress. This is because the singer of Bad Guy confessed that when she was younger she only liked to see the awards for the outfits of the famous, before this, her brother asked her about the controversial look of Lady Gaga in 2010, to which the young woman vegetarian just said: “Yikes (How horrible / Oh my god)”.
On the other hand, someone who was delighted with the dress from the beginning was Cher, who did not hesitate to hold the meat bag during the award ceremony and who later took advantage of her social networks to flatter Lady Gaga's scandalous look.
“The way she was cut and how she fit her body was AMAZING! The meat bag was great! As a piece of art, it was amazing! No moral judgment!", the singer said at the time.
Many have been the statements that Lady Gaga has given over the years regarding the unforgettable look that she used during the 2010 VMAs. One of her first positions even emerged shortly after the harsh criticism issued by the PETA association and there, the famous clarified that her decision to use that look was a political position.
"If we don't fight for what we believe in and if we don't fight for our rights, soon we'll have few as meat on our bones," Lady Gaga said during a chat with Ellen DeGeneres in 2010, adding: "I'm not a piece of meat.".
What was the origin of the iconic meat dress?
It was in a recent interview with Vogue that the House of Gucci star finally revealed how the idea for the look originated.
“The meat dress was the idea of Val Garland, the makeup artist. We had worked together for a while and she told me about something that happened to her. She went to a party dressed in sausages and I thought it was quite funny, I told her: 'So that nobody approaches you at a party'. I talked to my designer friends about whether we wanted to make a statement at the MTV Video Music Awards themselves and we did because at the time they wanted to revoke the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy. in the armed forces of the United States for which the H_S- of its members was not discussed) ”, recalled Gaga.
Likewise, the artist pointed out that it was collaborative work since her work team also agreed with her idea and helped her make the outfit.
“We decided to go with the meat dress because I thought if you are willing to die for your country, what does it matter what you identify with? The final design is by Franc Fernández, but it was the idea of Haus of Gaga. We were backstage with Brandon Maxwell who was one of my stylists at the time, he was a vegan and he still helped sew all those bits of meat to the dress, the hat, and the bag, which Cher kept, by the way." and added:
It smelled of meat, and wearing it was very exciting, underneath I was wearing a corset that was sewn to the garment, so this was a garment, they didn't just throw the meat on me and cross their fingers that it fits well.
What happened to the outfit after the award ceremony in 2010?
A year after the 2010 VMAs, it was revealed that the dress would be part of the Women Who Rock exhibit at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, located in Cleveland, United States. Given this news, doubts on the part of the public increased, since it was not understood how the meat could be preserved or if Lady Gaga had donated the outfit.
It was not until 2015 that Jun Francisco, director of collections of the museum in question, spoke with MTV about it and revealed how they managed to preserve the dress.
“Right after the VMAs, the museum contacted Lady Gaga about the meat dress and the plan for the future. They agreed to send it to us, but at the time it was still raw meat. So we had to figure it out, we were running around with ideas, and what we decided was to keep it as jerky. So it's stuffed,” she commented.
In this sense, Jun confessed that he transported the meat dress in an air-conditioned truck and took great care to ensure that the humidity and temperature of the look were in optimal conditions. However, Francisco pointed out that the look that was exposed was not the only one in existence, since he said that there was one before, but that did not come to light.
“There was another meat dress in the past, but they actually left it to rot. It was not preserved at all. But this one is different since now it is dried meat. We guess the lifespan of this dress is the lifespan of jerky! We're looking forward to seeing what that's like,” he said at the time.
Regarding who owned the dress, the museum's director of collections assured that Lady Gaga was the owner and only lent it to her for the aforementioned exhibition.
Currently, it is not known with certainty who owns the meat dress, however, in 2020 the famous reappeared on social networks using the controversial look to give a strong message regarding the presidential elections that took place in the country and of which Joe Biden was elected.
“When they announce who has won it will be very clear what this country has become. What you choose to do will affect you. And the fact is that the most critical vote right now is the one this country may never get to see: yours,” Lady Gaga said at the time, as she donned some of her most famous outfits.
